By Earl Heath | Contributing Sports Writer
Spain captured its second FIFA World Cup championship with a dramatic 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina before a packed crowd at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
With just under a minute gone in extra time, Nico Williams delivered a perfectly placed header to teammate Ferran Torres, who calmly finished to give Spain the only goal of the match. The late strike proved to be the difference as Spain withstood a final push from Argentina to secure its first World Cup title since defeating the Netherlands in the 2010 final in South Africa.
Under coach Luis de la Fuente, Spain completed a remarkable tournament run, allowing just one goal in eight matches — the fewest ever conceded by a World Cup champion despite playing more games than any previous title winner.
The victory also made de la Fuente, 65, the oldest coach to lead a men’s national team to a World Cup championship.
“We are world champions,” de la Fuente said. “It was together we reached this stage. I feel pride, to be honest. Accompanying my players on this journey is an honor.”
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez kept his team in contention with 11 saves, the most recorded in a World Cup final. However, Spain controlled much of the match, limiting Argentina’s opportunities throughout regulation and extra time.
According to the match statistics provided, Argentina did not register its first shot until Lionel Messi had an attempt blocked in the 117th minute.
Messi, 39, became the first player to start three World Cup finals and the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup final. He finished the tournament with eight goals, two behind France’s Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot.
“When you have Messi on the other side, well, you are nervous,” Torres said. “At the end of the day, we always depended on us. We always come up with our football, and we showed it again.”
Historic Achievement
Spain’s championship extended its unbeaten streak to 38 matches in all competitions, with a record of 29 wins and nine draws, surpassing Italy’s previous mark set from 2018 to 2021.
The title also made Spain just the third reigning European champion to capture the World Cup, joining Spain’s 2008-10 squad and West Germany’s 1972-74 team.
“Once we finished the game, I had a group of footballers who said, ‘Coach, what else is there to win? We have won everything, in every category,'” de la Fuente said. “We came to the conclusion that what remains is the next match in September against England at Wembley because this team is relentless.”
The championship match marked the 104th and final contest of the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup.
Record Television Audience
The World Cup final also attracted record television viewership.
According to the figures provided, a combined 62.8 million viewers watched the championship match on Sunday, July 19. Audience numbers peaked at 5:45 p.m., when 51.7 million viewers tuned in to watch Torres score the decisive goal in Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina.
The audience represented a 132% increase over the 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France in Qatar, which averaged 16.8 million viewers.